Criss-cross slicing machine



July 3, 1934. E. R. KNOTT CRISS-CROSS SLICING' MACHINE Filed Oct. 6, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 3, 1934.

i E. R. KNOTT CRIS'S-CROSS SLICING MACHINE Filed Oct. 6, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llnlillll Hr Patented July 3, 1934 This' invention relates to nveg(table slicing iria chines', and has particular reerencetomaClfiinefs for cutting such 'vegetables as'pot'atoes in'to'thin'm slices or'soecalled chips, which slices present grooved` or" corrugated surfaces.

A Wellrknown potatoslicer consistsof aiame havfn'gfa handle 'at one end ff and a'fluted knife at theloth'er end, and 'provided With a slide 'which is oprableby hand 'and'which"',` is pushed'ba'ckand'forth joye'the uted knife'f' to slice a potato carried bythe slide'. By manu` ally twisting the potato'betweeiisuccessive slicing" movements thereof,` the product canbeV so -sliced that both'surfaces are fiute'dandjtheslices have. uniformly spacedperfrorations.

Another" manually operable 'potato Slicer com-4 prisesfa'v frame" on which mounted' 'a transverse corrugated knife strip', both edges ofWhich' effect cutting, a hopper for containir'igvpotat's'being slidable on theframe "over'tlriiffkiii,f'e'v strip in one direction and'th'en manually given a'qua'rter rotationj'and slid back over the double-.edged While both types of"slicer'sreferred'ztofare serviceable in producing slicesV having their oppo- Y site surfaces flutedfin v:difiere'nt`r].i'1`-'eotios, they' are slow" in effecting production and necessarily tiresome 'forthe'usei'sl One of the objects of my invention istoprovide I a simple machine 'of ifotarytypejand capable of continuous operation by 'a' shaftlwhichmayhavef a crank for manual operation vorfinty 'have af. motor connected'to i`t,`and which Will'automatically effectY the' production 'of completely cut'vge tableslic'es having uted surfaces crossing each. Other l, l i.

Another objectk is to "provide "such 'almachinel that isl ofllovvmanufacturing costs,l and that capable of producing the slices at lhigh speed.V n

Another object is to provide an improved structure of knife for effecting the cutting or. iiuted slices. f f

WithV said 'objects infviev'v,` and'fother's herein-v" after explained, my invention consists 'inthe construction1 and' Ycombinatiens of parts' substantially as hereinafter' described and claimed.;l l

Figure l is aplan View' of thev complete machine, with theouter end *ofA the yoperatingshaft broken Ahi-UQA- s 'L Figure '2' isa side elevation of the same.

Figure 3v represents a section on line B- of Figure z H `Figurei -represents a section on line' of Figure 2.

Figure V5 represents an section on line 451-5 of., Figure L Figure'lis aplanvieyv cfa portion -ofrnyirnprovedknifeo'r Slicer. ,d s 'l ,V

Figur'e 7 is aview somewhatsimilar to a portion of Figure 5, on a larger scale and illustrating how thegcutter; is mounted ,on` therotary. disk or oble. I

8-8 .of VFigure 6.

u A Similail referencecharactersfindicate similar llSvd U parts or features in all ofthe Views. Y

be sliced Will berreferred toas potatoes, but it is to'be understood that the machineis vnot limited, t0 11S@` Q-rng such specific vegetables.

"`Figure 8 Yrepresents an enlargedsectionzon line. y

f"In Ythe following,descriptiom ,thearticlesto 1,

.. 77o" YWhat maybereferred .toasthe frame of thew...

machine. consists of a simple b ar or crosspiece.12 .-1 1.

having widened ends 13 adapted to be mountedon any y suitable supportinggstructure Whichmay u be crossrstrips onV the top Vof areceptacle to Rot t bly mounted in IWhich. theslices, made by thevmechanism are .f

delivered.'` Secured tothe undersidefof.. thebar.;

Vanother member of the frame `vvhich,in its- `entirety,.i s very simple.

mid-length thereof, is a shaft 15 having a. collar-.1;`

I6 secured to its upper end, said collar bearlng 'on the top lof the bar or, if desired, on.a ring. of. nball bearings.-u.

Securedto the lowerendof the. shaft .15' is disk 17 hereinafter ,referred togas afrotarytable because the potatoes .being sliced bear onit. An

opening 18Y (Figs. 1 and 7)` ,permit slices to'pass throughV into a suitable,receptacleA beloW..-

The slicingcutter consists of. a. utedor corrugated strip 19 of metal such as sheet steelspot Welded at. 20 to the bevelledbrY inclined under surface of theedgelof a plate .21 removably se-n.v f

in the `upper surface of the table 17 theproporfv curedby screws12-2 ina shallowr recess 23 (Fig. 6),

tions of-therecess 23Y and plate 21 being such that When the machine is in operation as herein-v after described, .sliding contact With thezpotatoes Y Will have no leffect other than the slicing. In

other Words,1the,entire surface of the rotary table =1 17 'is smooth, theupper edge of the knife 19 pro-.

jwetingslightly above, the surface. .of said table 4(Figs. l2 ,and 7.). `iaid upper edgeiszsharpened ing cut in operation, the location of-thacutter Arelatively.to the opening 18zin thefrotary,tablef.A

and bevel'led rearwardlyas at.24 to. effect a shear being such thatdurng the operation presently described, ach slice will be directedbythe cutter Vdown througlnthe said opening. f

. The vpotato .to besliced bearson therotary table l and isintermittently.turned lor twisted laterally on its vertical axis, such movementbeing soi-timed, relatively tothe Yrotation-.ofv the 1table, .that suc.m4

cessive operations, -Will form. .corrugated cuts in`v the article ,in different directions alternately. The mechanism foreffecting this. will a bevel pinion 26 meshing with a bevel pinion 2'? -nowbe de-m of an operating shaft 28 mounted in the bracket 14 and which shaft, preferably, has a crank notl necessary to illustrate, but which may be driven by power. The pinion meshes with a gear 29 which, circumferentially, is twice the size of the pinion 25, so as to rotate once for each two rotations of the shaft 15 and table 17. vSaid gear 29 is keyed to a vertical stud shaft mounted in bearings at one side of the frame bar 12 (Fig. 1). Below the gear 29 the shaft 30 has, integral therewith or secured to it, a disk 31 (Figs. 3 and 5) having an eccentrically located pin 32. l n

Mounted in a split bearing 33 provided in the other side of the frame bar 12 from the bearings for the shaft 30, is a sleeve 34 (Fig. 5) Vwhich is maintained in the desired vertical position in the' split bearing by a screw 35 (Figs. 1 and 2) capable of clamping the bearing on the sleeve. The screw may be loosened, the sleeve adjusted up or down, and then re-clamped.

Mounted in the sleeve 34 is a pin 36 which provides the pivot or axle of the potato holder. A collar 37 is secured to the upper end of the pin 36 to support the latter in its adjustable bearing sleeve 34, and the lower end of said pin enters a socket in a stud portion 38 of the holder for the article to be sliced. The said holder comprises a plate 39 having a large opening 40, a portion of which is covered by a cone-shaped hood member 41 from the top of which the stud portion 38 rises.

The eccentric pin 32 of the disk 31 is connected by 'a link 42 with a xed pin 43 rising from the holder plate 39 so that, as the shaft 30 is rotated, the plate 39 and its cone-shaped hood is turned or twisted laterally on the pivot provided by the pin 36 inthe stud bearing 38.

:In operation, the table 17, carrying the fluted knife, is rotated in the direction of the arrow, Figure 1, and the gearing described causes the holder 39, 41, to twist or turn rst one way during one rotation of the table and then the other way during the next rotation of the table. An attendant merely drops a potato onto the plate 39 over the opening 40 so that it bears on the table 17 which, as it rotates, frictionally moves the potato toward the apex of the cone 41 which arrests it, and the first passage of the knife under it removes a bottom` surface portion of the potato and leaves a fluted surface of the latter bearing on the table. Then, by the time the knife is approaching the potato to make the next cut, the holder has been twisted to its other position and the corrugations effected by the second cut cross thoseV made by the first cut, and the resulting slice passes down through the opening 18 into a suitable receptacle. Continued rotation of the table and the timed twisting of the potato holder effects the successive removal of slices, each having upper and lower corrugated surfaces.

An important feature of my invention resides in the conical open-bottomed holder 41. Said holder 41 has two smooth inner surfaces at an angle to each other. Therefore, when the knife is operating to cut a slice olf from the bottom of a potato in such holder, the action of the knife urges the potato toward the apex of the holder and the opposite converging sides of the holder so grip the potato that it can not turn sideways and interrupt proper continuity of the grooves made by the iluted knife.

When the slicing has proceeded so far that action begins on the upper or smaller portion of a potato and the remaining portion is being reduced in size, the successive slicing urges the remaining piece toward the apex of the holder.

Such smaller piece may be said to be gradually getting out of the way. At no time however is the potato moved into the path of the cutter at different points along the latter. It is simply twisted or turned about an axis substantially corresponding with the center of the potato.

'Another important feature of my invention resides in the structure of the cutter or slicing member which is removably mounted so that a worn one can be replaced by a new one, or so that diierently fluted cutters can be substituted for one another to vary the size of the ilutings. Particular advantages other than facility of replacement are simplicity and low most of manufacture. Each uted blade 19 is made of thin sheet metal such as steel and the strip is transversely corrugated. The plate 21 has an upwardly inclined or bevelled edge to the under surface of which the blade or strip 19'is secured by spot welding as at 20. For convenience of description, the portions of the strip 19 which contact with the plate 21 are referred to as the humps. Said humps are the portions of the blade strip which provide the best locations for the welding spots 20, as illustrated in Figures 6 and 8. This structure enables a durable cutter unit as a whole to be made with a, minimum of cost.

I do not limit myself to bevelling the edge of the plate 21, as the plane of the blade 19 might correspond with the plane of the plate 21, in which case the plate itself would be secured otherwise than in a flat shallow recess in the table 17, but with the blade 19 projecting sufiiciently above the plane of the surface of the table to effect the slicing;

And I do not limit myself to a. structure in which the table rotates in a horizontal plane. The mechanism as illustrated could be so mounted that the table would rotate in a vertical plane. For instance, by an examination of Figure 1 turned upside down, and considering that figure to be a front elevation of the machine, it will be readily understood that a potato then dropped into what would then be the wide open top of the cone 41, would be maintained against the face of the rotating member 17 and sliced by the cutter, due to the then downward inclination of the two tapering walls of the cone.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A slicing machine having a rotary table provided with a corrugated slicing knife, a pivoted holder for an article to be sliced, said holder comprising a plate having an opening and a coneshaped member over said opening, the pivot of said holder being at one side of the axis of rotation of the table, and means for intermittently turning said holder on its pivot alternately in opposition directions.

2. A slicing machine having a rotary table provided with a corrugated slicing knife, a pivoted holder for an article to be sliced, said holder comprising a plate having an opening and a. coneshaped member over said opening, the pivot of said holder being at one side of the axis of rotation of the table and means for intermittently.

turning said holder on its pivot alternately in opposite directions, said turning means including gearing for shifting the holder on its axis in timed relationship to the rotation of the table and its knife.

3. A slicing machine having a rotary table provided with a corrugated slicing knife, a Divoted holder for an article to be sliced, said holder comprising a plate having an opening and a coneshaped member over said opening, the pivot of Said holder being at one side of the axis of rotation or" the table and in line with a mid-portion of said cone-shaped member, and means for intermittently turning said holder on its pivot alternately in opposite directions.

4. A slicing machine having a rotary table provided With a uted knife, a. plate above said table, said plate being pivoted at one side of the axis of rotation of the table and having an open-bottomed conical potato-holder, and means for turning said plate on its pivot rst in one direction and then in reverse direction.

5. A slicing machine comprising a frame member having a shaft mounted therein, a plate carried by said shaft and having an opening and a slicing knife extending over said opening, a pivot pin supported by said frame member at one side of and parallel with said shaft, a potato holder carried by said pivot pin, a stud shaft mounted in said frame member, and gearing for transmitting motion from said rst-mentioned shaft to the potato holder to turn the latter on the axis of its pivot pin, said gearing comprising a pinion carried by the first-mentioned shaft, a gear carried by said stud shaft, said gear being twice the size of said pinion and carrying an eccentric pin, and a link connecting said eccentric pin With the potato 'nolder at a point aside from the pivot pin of the holder.

EUSTACE R. KNOT'I'. 

